Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Terry's Revenge
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"Phew, Manager Kim."
After receiving the report from CEO Kim Min-su and returning home, Hae-jin called out to Manager Kim.
Manager Kim looked at Hae-jin.
"Yes?"
"I've just been sitting there listening to CEO Kim's report, and my body's all stiff. How about a spar?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Yes."
Manager Kim knew it well.
If Hae-jin used all his Player abilities, he wouldn't stand a chance.
But just as Hae-jin had held back to match Damian's level during their spar, he was doing the same with Manager Kim now—scaling his stats accordingly.
Sparring with Manager Kim was good experience for Hae-jin too, helping him build up his combat skills.
Beyond that, Hae-jin thought it was necessary for himself and the others as well.
'I can pick up Manager Kim's techniques and use them later.'
If Nam Joo-hyuk had been there and Hae-jin had used his original abilities, it might have been different.
But now that Hae-jin had inherited all of Joo-hyuk's powers, he saw any diverse combat experience and styles as invaluable.
Because of that, they often decided to spar with Manager Kim.
The two headed out to the terrace.
Once on the terrace, Manager Kim asked Hae-jin,
"Empty hands, or daggers?"
"Daggers?"
"Got it."
When Hae-jin suggested daggers, Manager Kim pulled two from his inventory.
They were training daggers—blades that retracted halfway and burst with ink on a solid hit to confirm it.
He'd asked Raffaello da Vinci to make them, so they fit in the inventory. Manager Kim usually carried them for sparring and handed one over whenever Hae-jin wanted to go.
He passed one training dagger to Hae-jin.
"Here you go, Leader."
"Shall we warm up a bit?"
"Let's do it."
Hae-jin wasn't all that familiar with dagger fighting.
He'd originally wielded a greatsword, and even Joo-hyuk had mostly used one-handed swords or dual blades.
Of course, he wasn't completely inexperienced with daggers.
'I'll have to use them at some point.'
It never hurt to prepare for the worst.
That's why Hae-jin wanted to learn dagger techniques from Manager Kim while loosening up.
After handing over the training dagger, Manager Kim asked,
"Ready to start?"
"Sure."
"Yes."
The two gripped their daggers in one hand, positioning their free hands at similar heights to measure distance or defend—like a textbook martial arts stance, minus the daggers.
Hae-jin and Manager Kim faced off.
But neither moved first.
Rushing in would just expose an opening.
They stood in a standoff, gauging the perfect moment.
A moment that wouldn't leave them vulnerable to a counter.
'Not easy.'
'No openings.'
They eyed each other's gaps, staring intently without budging.
Normally, when staring each other down, people blink or hesitate when their focus slips.
They waited for that.
But for Hae-jin and Manager Kim—both awakened Players with boosted stats—such ordinary human lapses were unlikely.
'Then...'
Hae-jin thrust his dagger first.
A dagger strike usually targets vitals.
But that required the right setup.
'You only go for vitals when you can land it in one shot.'
His opponent was Manager Kim.
Aiming for vitals would just get blocked easily.
So Hae-jin targeted...
'His wrist!'
He went for the wrist gripping Manager Kim's dagger.
If he couldn't deal damage on equal terms, he'd have to create an imbalance.
Make himself stronger or the enemy weaker.
That's why he aimed for Manager Kim's weapon hand.
The current equalizer between them was their single dagger each.
So instead of a vital, Hae-jin struck at Manager Kim's dagger wrist.
Manager Kim saw Hae-jin's dagger coming for his wrist and thought,
'He's going for this.'
He'd been guarding his vitals but shifted to defense the moment he spotted the target.
Dropping the dagger would end the spar right there.
As Manager Kim pulled back to evade, Hae-jin smirked like he'd anticipated it.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
Hae-jin's failed dagger thrust turned into momentum—he spun his body.
The spin propelled him straight at Manager Kim.
Chasing the retreating Manager Kim with an elbow strike.
"Whoa!"
Thwack!
Manager Kim blocked Hae-jin's sudden elbow with his bare hand.
Hae-jin rebounded and immediately stabbed with the dagger again.
He switched to a reverse grip in a flash, aiming for the gap between Manager Kim's neck and shoulder.
But Manager Kim had already recovered his retracted dagger and parried.
Clang!
Hae-jin pulled back the instant it was blocked.
'An opening.'
The withdrawing dagger shot toward Manager Kim's exposed side.
His flank.
But as it stabbed in, Manager Kim slapped Hae-jin's dagger hand away with his free palm.
Thwack!
With both dagger strikes foiled, Hae-jin bent his free arm without pause, swinging his elbow at Manager Kim's temple.
Manager Kim raised his arm to block that too.
Thud!
Manager Kim deflected Hae-jin's elbow.
From there, the two traded blows relentlessly.
Even matching his abilities to Manager Kim's, Hae-jin found him tougher to beat than expected.
Finally, after nonstop exchanges, they both pulled back in unison.
"Hmm, shall we call it here?"
"Sounds good."
They created distance.
Hae-jin handed back the dagger and said,
"Please train with the others whenever you have time too."
"Yes."
Hae-jin believed the party members needed to learn Manager Kim's techniques.
Afterward, whenever time allowed, he'd pair them up with him.
'They'll need what Manager Kim taught soon enough.'
And so time passed.
Content: Invade the enemy kingdom.
Zone 33,333 Participants: 193
August 1, 2030 approached, and all Players transferred to the Eighth Trials' Arena.
As the content stated, it involved invading the capital of the enemy kingdom where the enemy king resided, or the lands ruled by the orc lord.
In the previous Trials' Arena, the defending side had been pushed back by Players, reversing the tide—and now the human and orc forces from each zone were pressing into the enemy capital on that momentum.
It was larger in scale, but otherwise identical to the last one.
The electronic board, announcing survival conditions for this Trials' Arena, added one more detail.
[The number of survivors in this trial will be '100'.]
Hae-jin's party had one more thought.
'The hidden trial this time is capturing the king.'
Not much different.
Previous Trials' Arena: lords or chieftains.
This one: kings or grand chieftains.
But there was a difference.
'These guys aren't cowards.'
Not cowards.
The lords and chieftains from the last hidden trial had been utter cowards.
Pathetic compared to their own guards.
But this trial's kings and grand chieftains were different.
They were powerful.
Still, Hae-jin could introduce a variable here.
Right after the Eighth Trials' Arena began, Hae-jin headed straight for the royal castle.
Felling everyone in his path.
He entered the castle and moved to the throne room.
There sat the kingdom's ruler, the king.
As Hae-jin entered the throne room, the king—who gripped a sword two-handed from his throne—opened his eyes.
"I wondered who would come first... and it's the betrayer of humanity."
Betrayer of humanity.
That referred to Players summoned as heroes to the orc side.
Humans aiding orcs, after all.
But regardless of what he said, Hae-jin just stared silently at the king.
Waiting for the scripted line.
The king who'd called him a "betrayer of humanity" rose.
Drawing the sword he'd leaned on, with a...
Shing-.
Sword drawn, the king pointed it at Hae-jin.
"Betrayer of humanity, what is your name?"
The king asked the name of the man about to fight him.
But Hae-jin didn't give it.
"No need to know my name."
"You know nothing of honor."
The king deemed him honorless for refusing a name before combat.
Hae-jin explained why.
"No, it's not that. Your opponent isn't me."
"I am not your opponent?"
"Right."
"Then who is?"
"Your little brother."
"What?"
The king tilted his head at Hae-jin's words.
He had to.
No Player would know about his siblings.
Seeing the king's reaction, Hae-jin summoned one he'd had no need for lately.
"Come out, Terry."
"Terry?!"
The king was stunned at the name.
For good reason.
Terry was truly the name of one of his brothers.
Yes.
The king before Hae-jin now.
His full name was Andy Prisoners.
King of the Prisoners Kingdom—and Terry's eldest brother.
As Hae-jin called for Terry, a shadow rose before him.
Terry Prisoners appeared, un-summoned for a while.
No sooner had he emerged than Terry Prisoners grumbled to Hae-jin.
[Hey, Master. Summon me more often. Being stuck in the shadows is suffocating.]
"We'll settle that later. Look over there first. Your revenge target is waiting."
[What? My revenge target... Big Brother Andy?]
Terry called the king "hyungnim."
Proving Andy Prisoners was indeed Terry Prisoners' brother.
Watching the two face off, Hae-jin thought,
'Originally, you kill Terry too, then Andy, then wipe out the entire Prisoners family in the castle for a hidden title and rewards...'
Truth was, Hae-jin didn't need to.
It was already an achievement he'd inherited from Joo-hyuk.
So he had no intention of going that far.
No need for unnecessary killing.
Non-combatants didn't give points anyway.
Plus, letting Terry Prisoners exact revenge meant the kill credit for the king went to Hae-jin as his summon master.
And with the hidden trial reward "Merit Scroll" from last time, first in the zone was guaranteed once the king fell.
Anyway.
Hae-jin simply plopped down right there.
Finishing this was Terry Prisoners' job.
And...
'Watching a fight is the most fun part.'
